Rafael Furcal is finding his groove

What Rafael Furcal feels, Dodgers Manager Joe Torre sees, and what Torre sees, the numbers say: Furcal is slowly starting to find his rhythm at the plate.

“The season is long,” Furcal said. “I knew and the whole world knew that I wasn’t going to stay like that the entire year. I didn’t know when it would come, today or tomorrow, but I just kept at it.”

Furcal, who was one for three with a walk and a sacrifice in the Dodgers’ 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday, has hit .333 over his last seven games and said he believes he’s starting to emerge from his season-long slump.

“I feel a lot better,” he said. “My swing feels better and I’m getting deeper into counts. I’m hitting the ball harder.”

Furcal, who is hitting .248, blamed his slow start on the 4 1/2 months he sat out last season because of back problems that ultimately required surgery.

He batted ninth in the Dodgers’ series opener in Texas on Friday, but Torre noticed an improvement in his form and moved him back to the No. 2 spot. Torre batted him seventh in the last three games of the Dodgers’ previous homestand.

“He’s much freer than he was a couple of weeks ago when he was trying to muscle everything,” Torre said.

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Pierre headed to bench?

In the lineup every game for the last five-plus weeks, Juan Pierre has finally made enough plate appearances to be counted among the league’s batting leaders.

Pierre’s .343 average ranks fourth in the National League and fifth in the majors, but he can expect to find himself back on the Dodgers’ bench when Manny Ramirez returns to the lineup July 3.

Pierre became the starting left fielder when Ramirez was suspended for 50 games for violating baseball’s drug policy.

“I don’t see Juan’s role really changing from what it was early in the year,” Torre said, adding that Pierre would probably get a couple of starts a week.

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Wolf still coughing

Concerned about a cough that he has had for about a month, Randy Wolf visited a doctor when the Dodgers were home last week.

“He said I probably had bronchitis,” Wolf said. “It’s concerning. I’ll probably get it checked again when we’re home next week. I have to see what’s going on.”

Has it affected him during games?

“I cough a lot,” Wolf said. “My abs have been getting a really good workout.”

Wolf seemed unaffected Saturday night, as he tossed five scoreless innings in a start that was cut short by a delay in the game that lasted 1 hour 41 minutes.

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Kershaw: Home again

With his next turn in the rotation set for Tuesday in Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw again missed out on the chance to pitch in the ballpark he used to go to as a kid growing up in suburban Dallas.

Kershaw said he played in two games at Rangers Ballpark in high school but that he was the first baseman both times.

“It would’ve been fun to pitch here because I grew up coming to games here,” he said. “But it gave me more time to spend with my family.”

Kershaw, who opted to stay at his parents’ home instead of the team hotel on this trip, returned home in the midst of a personal rut.

The 21-year-old left-hander hasn’t pitched past the sixth inning in any of his previous four starts because of problems managing his pitch count.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com